Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt
Produced by Michal Goldman, 67 minutes, 1996.
It has been said of Umm Kulthum that she had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley. Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt, brings the most famous Arabic singer of the twentieth century to an American audience. Born a peasant at the turn of the century, she became a woman of great wealth and power, the confidant of presidents and kings, and Egypt’s President Gamal Abd al-Nasser’s unofficial ambassador throughout the Arab world. This film puts her life in the context of the epic story of 20th century Egypt as it shook off colonialism and confronted modernity. The camera explores her astonishing connection with her audience, taking us into her village in the Nile Delta, and into the cafes, markets, and streets of Cairo where she lived and worked. Four million people were on the streets of Cairo for her funeral in 1975 and to this day, her cassettes outsell every other Arabic female vocalist. In her lifetime, she became the symbol of the aspirations of the entire Arab world.
The film is based in part on the book, "The Voice of Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century, by Virginia Danielson.
"Michal Goldman’s documentary film Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt sets out bravely to document the life and achievement of this century’s greatest and most legendary Arab singer. In the process, Umm Kulthum also provides a glimpse into the historic changes and political upheavals shaking Egypt from the last years of British colonialism through the turbulent and dramatic years of Gamal Abd al-Nasser’s Rule."
--The Middle East & South Asia Folklore Bulletin
"Umm Kulthum grows more revealing as it proceeds, helped enormously by the rich legacy of films and recordings."
--The New York Times
"If the information highway leaves you feeling the world is shrinking at an alarming rate, Umm Kulthum will remind you of how very big and mysterious the world remains."
--Los Angeles Times
Screenings and awards include: the New York Film Festival, New England Film and Video Festival (FirstFrame Editing Award); Chicago International Film Festival (Golden Plaque: Documentary-History/Biography); Journées Cinematographiques de Carthage, Tunisia; Cairo International Film Festival, Cairo; Promoting Tolerance Award, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
**********************************************************************************
